Man due in court on rape charge, his second sexual assault charge

COLUMBIA – A man is due in court Wednesday on rape and other charges similar to a crime he is accused in.

The Columbia Police Department arrested Jemell Butler, 19, of Jefferson City on Tuesday for charges of second-degree robbery, first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and kidnapping from an incident on Oct. 3.

A 19-year-old woman made a report to the St. Robert Police Department. Police said she had been contacted by Butler in response to an ad on Backpage.com. The woman reported meeting with Butler in Columbia, being placed in a headlock and pushed into bushes. She told police Butler took a pocket knife from her and forced her to perform oral sex. Police said Butler then sexually assaulted the woman, who said she was forced inside an address on Bryant Walkway, where she was raped multiple times.

The woman took a taxi to St. Robert where she made the report.

Police said the woman identified Butler in a photo lineup Nov. 5.

Before that happened Columbia police arrested Butler on Oct. 18 on similar charges of armed criminal action, first-degree robbery and first-degree sodomy with a different woman he met online. Police said Butler pulled a knife and forced the 25-year-old victim to perform a sexual act. After a struggle with the knife, police said, the victim ran on foot to the Fazoli’s restaurant on I-70 Drive, where she was contacted the police.

Butler has been held in the Boone County Jail since Oct. 18. His trial for the initial charges is set for Jan. 26.